Hearing Jean say that, Kaeya suddenly felt his life turning bleak.
These days, he had been working an average of twelve hours a day.
For someone like him—famous for slacking off and coasting through life—it was pure despair.
In fact, this glass of wine today was the only drink he'd had in nearly five or six days.
Even the bottle of Maotai sitting at home hadn't been touched!
"C-Captain Jean… isn't that a little unnecessary?"
Kaeya wiped away his cold sweat with a bitter smile.
"Lately, everyone in the Knights has been overworked. Stormterror, the Abyss Order, hilichurls, the Fatui—all sorts of threats piling up.
But now, Stormterror has been gravely wounded, the Abyss Order scared off by Lady Alice, and the Fatui warned by her as well.
Lord Venti and the others have also begun cultivating immortality, so we have a basic guarantee of safety.
Is there really any need for such a tight schedule anymore?"
Jean didn't answer right away—
but Diluc let out a cold snort.
"It's exactly because everyone in the Knights thinks like you that the Order has rotted into its current state.
Pathetic… relying on others for everything, praying to the gods for salvation. What's the point of keeping a Knights of Favonius like that?"
Jean gave Diluc a helpless glance.
Harsh as his words were, it was also undeniable truth.
The Knights…
Even at their peak, the internal culture had never been truly admirable.
Now, as acting Grand Master, she wanted to seize this rare period—before the main force returned—to change the Order's very spirit.
"Although Sir Diluc's words were… harsh, the truth is the Knights have relied too much on others.
Lord Barbatos gave freedom to Mondstadt. So why should Mondstadt's problems always demand Lord Barbatos' help?
Right now, the Abyss has retreated, the Fatui have withdrawn, and Stormterror lies gravely injured.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Why shouldn't we seize this chance to resolve Stormterror's problem before Lord Barbatos returns?
Are we really going to rely on the fact that we have a 'safety net'… and then give up on solving things ourselves?
If Mondstadt and its Knights do that—what difference is there between us and spoiled children?"
Kaeya felt a twinge of guilt under her words.
Diluc shot Jean another look before turning away.
The Knights of Favonius—right now, Jean was the only one truly striving to change them.
He admitted she was hardworking, but relying on her alone was impossible.
Her vision was lofty, but her methods were still immature.
Still, given that Venti and the others had embarked on the immortal path… perhaps there was hope.
"…Fine then. What do we do?"
Kaeya set down his cup and rolled his shoulders.
Jean thought for a moment, then turned to Diluc.
"Sir Diluc, could we borrow the intelligence you've gathered on Stormterror?"
Diluc didn't speak.
He simply pulled out a scroll from under the counter, tossed it to Jean, then put on his coat and headed for the door.
"Diluc, where are you going?"
Lumine quickly called after him.
Diluc paused for a moment, then said calmly:
"I'm going to notify my caravans. They'll start collecting Primogems, animals, and books.
Once Stormterror's issue is resolved, I'll personally head to Liyue—to visit Mount Shu."
Watching his retreating back, Jean felt more than ever how urgent it was to reform the Knights.
With a sigh, she turned to Lumine and began discussing the intelligence details.
While the Seven Nations were abuzz with talk of Liyue,
the supposed epicenter of all this—Liyue, or rather, Mount Shu—remained unusually calm.
But that calm did not last long.
While everyone was focused on cultivation, a deafening explosion suddenly echoed from the direction of Dazhu Peak.
Lisa, the closest, opened her eyes helplessly and paused her meditation. Extending her spiritual sense, she saw thick smoke billowing from afar.
At once, she understood.
The senior brother of Dazhu Peak had blown up a furnace again.
Sure enough, not long after, Li Shui came flying back, covered in tattered robes, hugging a cracked alchemy cauldron, looking utterly disheveled.
Lisa sighed and started counting silently in her heart.
About three minutes later, the familiar thunderous roar rang out, audible even across such a distance.
"Li Shui! If you can't refine pills, then don't! Don't you know to study properly before attempting it?
Today alone you've blown up fourteen furnaces! I've already repaired three cauldrons for you!
Do you want me to stop crafting artifacts entirely, just to keep fixing your cauldrons?
We're about to enter the Nine Nether Secret Realm—can't you behave for once?!"
Listening to Cloud Retainer's furious scolding, Lisa propped her chin with a smile.
She flicked her fingers, letting a few peach blossoms fall into her teacup.
A spark ignited at the base of the cup, heating it until steam curled up from the tea.
After becoming an immortal cultivator, everything was so much easier.
In plain terms—Lisa found it even more convenient to slack off.
The argument between Li Shui and Cloud Retainer eventually faded from her perception. She already knew how it would end:
Li Shui begging and promising, painting pies about refining True Essence Pills for Cloud Retainer first.
Cloud Retainer reluctantly helping him repair the cauldron.
Then Li Shui blowing it up again…
Over and over, for days on end.
Her gaze drifted toward Tongtian Peak, where by now, Jiang Yan was probably teaching Klee her lessons.
Being the sect master's personal disciple had its privileges—something to envy indeed.
Since joining Mount Shu, Lisa had only seen the sect master a handful of times.
Once the sect grew larger, those of them with good talent might still manage,
but ordinary disciples… they'd be lucky to even glimpse the head of a peak, let alone the sect master himself.
A mysterious man… always a deadly poison for women's hearts.
That little qilin on Tongtian Peak was clearly addicted—
and even Ningguang of Xiaozhu Peak might not be immune…
As her thoughts wandered, several streaks of light suddenly shot from Xiaozhu Peak and Tongtian Peak, heading straight for Dragon's Head Peak.
Lisa's interest was piqued.
So urgent? Was something happening with the Nine Nether Secret Realm?
But there hadn't been any announcement from the sect master…
Since her cultivation had already been interrupted by Li Shui's explosion, she simply decided to follow along, sword-riding toward Dragon's Head Peak.
At the Dragon's Head Peak training grounds, Xiao stood at the center with eyes closed, calmly gathering his energy.
Zhongli stood not far away, watching.
Soon after, the streaks of light arrived, landing on the grounds.
Ningguang and Keqing descended gracefully.
Their mastery of sword-flight wasn't battle-ready yet, but for travel, they were more than proficient.
After glancing once at Xiao, who remained motionless, they walked straight to Zhongli.
"First Seat…"
Zhongli raised a hand, gently interrupting them.
"Just watch Xiao."
Understanding, Ningguang's eyes lit with anticipation.
Earlier, they had received Zhongli's voice transmission:
The martial arts techniques suitable for mortals—his commission—had been completed.
Without hesitation, Ningguang and Keqing had rushed over.
She had thought that with Zhongli busy cultivating and constantly cleaning up Venti's messes, such a task might take until after the Nine Nether expedition.
But unexpectedly, Zhongli had finished it so quickly.
Indeed—such was the power of contribution points. Even the First Seat was not immune.
Seeing Xiao quietly circulating energy, with a new aura different from true essence flowing through him, Ningguang understood at once.
Clearly, Zhongli had given him the technique to test.
She and Keqing both grew expectant.
But just then—a voice Zhongli least wanted to hear rang out.
"Ehe~!"
Instantly, Zhongli's face darkened, his three divine souls nearly leaping in rage, an almost physical urge to hit something welling up.
"Let me see, what's all the excitement here on Dragon's Head Peak today? Everyone gathered together like this?"
In a flash of green light, Venti appeared.
But his appearance had changed drastically.
Gone were the lighthearted bard's clothes.
Now he wore a strange green Daoist robe—though unlike Jiang Yan's solemn garb, his still carried a touch of frivolity.
With his old hat stubbornly perched on his head, the effect was… oddly mismatched.
Before, Venti had always kept his familiar image, fearing erosion would cause him to forget old friends, and not wanting Mondstadt to forget them either.
But now, with the erosion gone, he had no such worries.
So he dressed however he pleased—what Mount Shu called "following the heart."
Lounging sideways on a broad flying sword, legs swinging, one hand cradling his head while the other lifted a wine gourd to his lips, his gaze was already hazy with drink.
Zhongli ignored him.
Moments later, Lisa also arrived.
Landing, she asked curiously:
"Ningguang, Keqing—you came in such a hurry. Did something happen with the Nine Nether Secret Realm?"
Ningguang blinked, then smiled and shook her head.
"No, not that. The First Seat has completed the commission I posted—the creation of martial arts suitable for mortals.
We came to take a look. The timing is perfect—we can deliver it before we leave, without delaying the expedition."
Lisa understood at once.
There were only a few missions in the Contribution Hall, and she had seen them all.
Naturally, she knew of Zhongli's task.
It wasn't about the secret realm, but it was certainly interesting and novel.
She might as well observe how these martial arts turned out. If suitable, perhaps they could even prepare a version to bring back to Mondstadt.
Jean was under a lot of pressure, after all. Since Lisa herself was already cultivating, she might as well extend a hand.
The group said little more, while Venti's eyes gleamed as he quietly sobered up.
The martial arts Zhongli had given Xiao were, compared to his own Flying-Cloud Tyrant Spear, far too low in level.
For a Nascent Soul cultivator like him, it was child's play.
Even a fresh Foundation Establishment disciple could master such techniques to perfection in minutes.
After all, cultivation strengthened every aspect of oneself.
And martial arts techniques were designed for mortals—it was nothing less than a dimensionality reduction for cultivators.
Sure enough, Xiao quickly sorted out the techniques in his mind.
Circulating a trace of true essence, he temporarily converted it into the so-called martial "inner qi."
At once, he reached the limit of these techniques.
Opening his eyes, he looked toward Zhongli.
The latter nodded lightly.
"Demonstrate, Xiao."
The young adeptus clasped his fists.
"As you command, Master!"
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